Home made fly spray -- question

[neen]

After the runaway success of the home-made mane and tail conditioner (http://newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77247), and after the interesting experience of trying to school a pony with a fly up his nose yesterday, I've been trawling through the boards looking for home-made fly spray.

I've found a variety of recipes (I love New Rider!) but there are a couple of the ingredients I don't understand. I understand the citronella, vinegar, fairy liquid for mixing (I presume baby shampoo would work just as well?) -- the ones I don't understand are tea and methylated spirits.

Here are my questions:
- What does the tea do? Doesn't it stain the coat? And doesn't it go mouldy?
- What does the meths do? Does it serve as a preservative? If you don't add tea, can you miss the meths out? Could you use surgical spirit instead? (note: I'm not a chemist -- to me, methylated spirit is purple and lives in the garage; surgical spirit is clear and lives in the medicine cabinet.)

Questions are a bit specific, I know, but any help gratefully received.

[Sarah-B]

The meths (or surgical spirit - either are just non-drinkable alcohol) is to emulsify the mixture i.e get the essential oils to distribute evenly throughout the other liquid - when you add essential oils to a bath you should mix them in a drop of vodka (or milk) first before adding otherwise they sit in greasy blobs on the surface.

If you would rather not add the alcohol to the mixture (and I didn't as I never got round to buying any) then you need to shake the bottle several times during each application.

Not sure what the tea does, but I used it in mine and it works at least as good as off-the-shelf products (i.e not brilliantly long term but gets rid of flies short term and doesn't cost me a fortune).

[HairyCob]

The tea doesn't go off either- unless you make it with milk and sugar...;)

I've made the homemade stuff without tea before now, and it doesn't work as well... don't know what it is in tea that flies don't like, tannin maybe?

Chuck a couple of cloves of garlic in, peeled and cut in four, leave it for a week to 'ferment' and you too can have a horse that smells like last night's leftover indian takeaway:D (Oh, except that there wasn't any left, was there Jane;) )

Seriously, the garlic helps too:D

[neen]

Mmm, can't wait to get going with this one... need a little shopping trip to get the citronella, then we're in business :cool:

[Pink's lady]

Just made some up the other day and it seems to work. Also a hell of a lot cheaper than bought stuff and smells exactly the same.

It needs to be STRONG tea (as stong as you came get it). Tannin's are what plants product to stop insects eating them, so I guess it works for flies too.

If you use washing up liquid you shouldn't need meths (the washing up liquids a good detergent for mixing oil and water). You don't want much though, otherwise the whole thing explodes when you shake it;)

Citronella oil is bought in little bottles from chemists. Whilst your there aslo get some lavender, sandlewood and tea-tea oil if you can - they're also meant to be good. I made up a 2litre coke bottle and used three bottles of citronella oil (about 30mls in each I think) -cos they were only 80p each, one of lavender and one of tea-tree. They didn't have sandlewood.

I'm also about to buy some Avon Skin so soft oil (thanks Sarah B :D) and add that too - my fly spray is a work in progress;)

[neen]

Really looking forward to this, I love mixing up potions. I'm guessing, HC, since Dolly is grey, that the tea doesn't stain at all?

[Sarah-B]

The tea doesn't stain, I use it on Crofter (who is grey) and it doesn't leave any marks....

[neen]

Great -- Fluke's dun so I think I'll be okay there, but one of his fieldmates is piebald and I'd hate to be responsible for turning him into a tricolour!

[teabiscuit]

my best fly repellent recipe is:

100ml citronella
7 tea bags in 1 ltr boiled water left to cool
few drops tea tree and lavender oil
1 pint vinegar
made up to 2 ltrs with cold water
shake vigorously before and during use

the flies don't come near :)

[Pink's lady]

Teabiscuits is excactly the same as mine, except I didn't bother with this 'measuring' lark;)

Only thing I'm also going to add now is the Avon Skin so Soft stuff I bought last night (all Sarah B's fault;))